Ashton (b. 1834) is the author of a number of valuable books on English popular culture, including Real Sailor-Songs (1891), A History of English Lotteries (1893), and A Righte Merrie Christmasse! (1894), all published by the Leadenhall Press. Other publications include Chap-Books of the Eighteenth Century, Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne, and Humour, Wit, & Satire of the Seventeenth Century.